LEARN SIX RULES FOR SPELLING

Rule 1: Place -i before -e, except after -c or when sounded like -ay as in neighbor and weigh.

Rule 2: To change the ending on a word that ends in -y, first change -y to -i if the -y follows a consonant (any letter but a, e, i, o, u).

But keep the -y if it follows a vowel (a, e, i, o, u):

Always keep the final -y in a word when you add -ing:

Rule 3: Toadd -able, -ed, or -ing to a word ending in a consonant, double that consonant only if the sound before it is short.

Rule 4: If the final -e in a word is not pronounced, drop that -e when you add an ending that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).

But keep the -e when you add an ending that begins with a consonant (any letter but a, e, i, o, u).

EXCEPTIONS

Rule 5: Follow seven guides for forming plurals.

a. In general, add -s or -es:

b. Form the plural of an acronym by adding -s. An acronym is a word made up of the first letters of a name or title:

c. If a noun ends in a -y that follows a consonant, change the -y to -i and add -es:

But if the -y follows a vowel, just add -s:

d. If a word ends in -f or -fe, change the ending to -v and add -es:

e. Add -s to some words that end in -o, -es to others:

f. To form the plural of a word with hyphens, add -s or -es to the first noun in the group:

g. Irregular nouns don't follow the rules. Some even change their spellings in the plural:

Some are spelled the same in the plural and the singular:

Rule 6: Create contractions by joining two words with an apostrophe.

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